WEST LAFAYETTE — Last Thursday night, Mark Galloway and his family flew across three states for an all-expenses paid weekend trip.

Such excursions aren't usually feasible for school teachers such as Galloway, who coaches basketball at Culver Academy. This, however, counted as a family business trip. Galloway's son Trey, one of the state's best basketball players in the junior class, had been invited to Iowa for an official visit.

"We've got military parades on Sundays and other responsibilities," Mark Galloway said. "We're trying to be as tactful as we can about getting out. It's not just visiting a school. It has to be something that's serious."

For an official visit, college programs can pay for the airfare (or reimburse driving mileage) and pay for lodging, meals and game tickets for the athlete and two family members. Traditionally, those visits signaled significant interest from both parties in the end game of the recruiting courtship.

As recently as last season, families such as the Galloways could not make those trips this early in the process. Previous NCAA rules limited players to five official visits beginning in January of their junior year.

An F.B.I. investigation one year ago resulted int the arrest of four basketball coaches and awakened a sense of reform in the sport. Changes proposed by the Rice Commission included more flexibility in the frequency and timing of official visits.

Players can now take five official visits between Aug. 1 and the end of their junior year, five more from that point through the Oct. 15 after their high school graduation, and five more once they reach college, should they choose to pursue a transfer.

The rule change most benefits players who make an early commitment, then reconsider due to a coaching change or some other factor. Yet it could also help programs demonstrate their level of interest in an athlete, while also allowing players to gather more information about programs earlier in the process.

"It's an opportunity for guys, especially when they don't have the time or resources to do all these visits, to see more places and get more of a feel for the coaching staff and the places recruiting them," said Butler (Pennsylvania) Area guard Ethan Morton, the only 2020 target Purdue so far to make an an official visit.

"When this rule changed we were like, 'Well, we might as well try and use as many as we can if universities want us to because the spring is tough with the live period and evaluation period and (the rule) turns over at the end of your junior year. We figured we should try and use as may as possible and experience what they are like."

Purdue seldom held early official visits under the old rules. Dakota Mathias took his official visit to Purdue in late March of his junior year, 2013, and committed about five weeks later. Normal (Illinois) West's Francis Okoro took one last April, though the now-Oregon freshman eventually graduated early.

In the past few years players have been more likely to take the official visit after committing — including current Boilermakers Ryan Cline and Trevion Williams and 2019 commits Isaiah Thompson and Mason Gillis — than to take one prior to the end of their junior year.

Morton took full advantage of the early change. He also officially visited Indiana two weeks ago, took an unofficial to Michigan last week and is scheduled to take a third official visit to Stanford this week. Under the old rules, he wouldn't be making that four-hour flight.

"(Distant schools) have an advantage to try and get guys on campus they wouldn't normally get with five official visits, because (the players) might have five they already like and wouldn't want to waste one on a school they're seeing for first time," Morton said.

The new rule did not go into effect for men's basketball until Aug. 15. Purdue coach Matt Painter said he and his staff approached it with the same strategy as always: "Aggressive is the best recipe."

"The guys that we're on, we're just trying to get them to officially visit," said Painter, who cannot talk about specific players until they have signed a national letter of intent or grant-in-aid paperwork. "It kind of got put on them, too, and they're not used to it.

"We're not trying to go for guys at distances vs. guys that are close. The guys that we have targeted, that's who we're going to try to get on (visits). If they're not ready to do them, that's their choice."

Marquette gets the first official visit for 2020 four-star Zeb Jackson, he tells Stockrisers.

Jackson will begin the OV on October 5th. Recently narrowed list to a final-7.

Early official visits won't benefit every prospect. Purdue's most recent 2019 commitment, Valparaiso guard Brandon Newman, said these new rules would not have helped him much. His recruitment didn't really pick up momentum until this past spring.

Gallipolis, Ohio, center Zach Loveday received a close look at Purdue when he came over for the program's Elite Camp in August. Painter was one of six head coaches to visit the Gallia Academy star, a top-50 national recruit, in a recent 10-day stretch.

Loveday's father, Billy, said they are considering early official visits to geographically remote schools such as Baylor, Florida and Stanford.

However, even for athletes who focus on basketball, weekends aren't always free. Zach Loveday plays trombone in the Gallia Academy marching band on Friday nights. Band competitions typically fall on Saturdays. Last weekend, Loveday took an unofficial visit to nearby Ohio State before heading to Charlotte, North Carolina, for a private training session.

Culver Academies 2020 guard Trey Galloway is making an official visit to Iowa this weekend. (New rules allow juniors to take them earlier than before.)#Purdue has also offered and coach Matt Painter was in recently to see him.

Billy Loveday expressed concern that the earlier official visits might cause some recruits to feel pressure to make an earlier decision. For practical reasons, he's also skeptical many players will end up taking all 10 of those visits.

"It might take a year or two for the shockwave to hit and players say we just can't take all 10 visits," Billy Loveday said. "It's not feasible. It may put more pressure on athletes to say they have to knuckle down and make a decision."

Zach Loveday's unofficial visit to Ohio State coincided with one for another Purdue 2020 target from Ohio: Maumee Valley Country Day guard Zeb Jackson. He reportedly will take his first official visit, to Marquette, next weekend.

Galloway took an unofficial visit to Notre Dame earlier this month at the same time Purdue 2020 target Hunter Dickinson, a center from DeMatha Catholic in Maryland, took an official visit.

Beyond Morton's visit, the immediate impact of the new rule for the Boilermakers may be limited.

Purdue has three commitments for 2019 and could add one or two more. Seven current players originally on scholarship project to return for the 2020-21 season. Of those, only 7-3 sophomore center Matt Haarms seems to have an above-average chance at an early professional opportunity. The Boilermakers' 2020 class may only feature one or two players.

Trey Galloway could be one of them. The family expects to return to West Lafayette soon, to reciprocate the recent visit Painter made to Culver. That 80-mile drive doesn't break the bank.

Last week's trip to Iowa, and others of similar distances for 2020 recruits and the classes coming up behind them, wouldn't be possible without the new rule.

"It sends a strong message to the coaching staff, too," Mark Galloway said. "If you're going to roll out the red carpet, if you will, both parties are pretty serious about each other."

Nathan Baird reports on Purdue men's basketball for the Journal & Courier. Contact him at 765-420-5234 or nbaird@jconline.com. Follow him on Twitter: @nbairdjc